Art Pepper, who died in 1982 at the age of 56, was a very troubled man, born into an abusive family, he started playing clarinet at the age of 9 and switched to saxophone a couple of years later. However, like so many other tortured jazz artistes of the time, he turned to the fruit of the poppy, and his personal and professional life from then on was marked by struggles with heroin. Scott Yanow writes: This CD starts off with four selections from a date led by tenor saxophonist Bill Perkins that features altoist Art Pepper; the remainder of the quintet is comprised of pianist Jimmy Rowles, bassist Ben Tucker and Mel Lewis. While they perform boppish versions of two standards and a pair of Pepper originals, the remainder of the CD has a particularly strong set that showcases Pepper in a nonet arranged by Shorty Rogers. The music in the latter date are all Rogers originals and there are alternate takes of "Diablo's Dance" and "Popo" to round out the program. The other soloists include trumpeter Don Fagerquist, Bill Holman on tenor, baritonist Bud Shank, valve trombonist Stu Williamson and pianist Russ Freeman. Highly recommended to fans of Art Pepper and West Coast jazz. These recordings come from his sweet toned music, during which he was at the height of his considerable powers.
